A new exhibit, titled “Refuge,” brings this juxtaposition to light by showcasing the refugee children who stand to lose the most from Trump’s policies.

Visual artist Claire Salvo conceptualized the project last fall as a way to de-politicize the conversation around refugee resettlement. In particular, she wanted to highlight the fact that more than half of the world’s refugees are children, and many of them have only known life inside a refugee camp.

CLAIRE SALVO

Ashe, an eleven year old refugee from Somalia, now living in Lancaster with her family.

“I wanted to remove the political aspect and just make it human,” Salvo told The Huffington Post. “There’s something about kids everyone can relate to. Everyone can agree it’s not a child’s choice ― it’s no one’s choice ― to be a refugee. They have no say in the matter.”

Salvo worked with her local branch of Church World Service, a refugee aid organization, to locate families that would be interested in participating. In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where the artist lives, it wasn’t hard.

Lancaster is known for being “America’s refugee capital.” The city takes in roughly 20 times more refugees per capita than any other city in the U.S. In 2016, Church World Service Lancaster helped resettle more than 400 refugees, nearly half of whom were children under the age of 18.

“These are the people that President Trump wants to close our doors to. They are some of the world’s most vulnerable people,” Stephanie Gromek, community resource coordinator for Church World Service Lancaster, told HuffPost.

The organization connected Salvo with three families who expressed interest in participating, and the artist spent the last few months photographing, interviewing and sketching fifteen children from the families. Salvo shot the photographs on an iPhone and did the drawings with charcoal. She’ll be auctioning the pieces off starting in May, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated back to the participating families, the artist said.

All three of the families arrived in the U.S. speaking only their native language and “with little more than clothes on their back,” said Gromek.

One was a Muslim family from Somalia ― one of the banned countries included on Trump’s initial refugee order ― who just arrived in the U.S. in December. The other two families are related and living under one roof. They hail from Ethiopia and are members of the Anuak tribe, a persecuted ethnic minority.

The process of resettlement is an arduous one. Refugees recommended for resettlement in the U.S. by the U.N. undergo a stringent, two-year long vetting process that includes various security and medical clearances as well as cultural orientation.

During her interviews with the families, Salvo said she asked them: “What’s your greatest hope for life in America.” The language barrier made it difficult for her to get across the broader scope of the question, Salvo said. But one of the mothers, named Faduma, was able to communicate that what she wanted most was a washer and dryer.

One day, Salvo was leaving her house when she saw that a neighbor had left a washer out on the curb. The photographer said she called a friend to help her lift the washer into her car, and she drove it down to the CWS office with a note that it was for Faduma.

“The things many refugees want are so basic,” Salvo said, “and they’re things we take for granted, like not having to walk a mile to laundromat.”

Refugee children have their own basic tasks to attend to once they arrive in the U.S., Gromek said. These include learning English, getting various immunizations and enrolling in school. Within a month, most refugee children have started their classes and are on their way to becoming everyday American kids.

“Children are resilient in their own right, and refugee children are even more so I believe because they’ve been through so much,” Gromek told HuffPost. “They end up thriving.”

Like Many Americans, A Judge On The Court Weighing Trump’s Refugee Ban Was A Refugee

Judge Alex Kozinski’s family fled communism when he was a child.

LOS ANGELES ― A federal judge who sits on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is set to rule on a block of President Donald Trump’s refugee ban, came to the United States as a refugee when he was a boy.

Alex Kozinski, one of the most well-respected judges on the 9th Circuit, based in San Francisco, fled with his parents, Moses and Sabine, from communist Romania in 1962. Kozinski has spoken publicly about his immigration experience for years, even joking that he went from being a committed communist as a boy to an “instant capitalist” after his first trip outside of the Iron Curtain to Vienna ― on his way to the United States ― where he was introduced to “bubble gum, chocolate and bananas.”

COURTESY OF ALEX KOZINSKI

Alex with his father, Moses, and his mother, Sabine, about a year before the Kozinskis left Romania.

But his journey came full circle on Monday when HIAS ― a refugee agency that has been assisting Jews and others fleeing persecution since 1881 ― filed a legal brief with the 9th Circuit in strong opposition to Trump’s travel ban. HIAS was the same group that helped to resettle the Kozinski family, eventually helping them get all the way to the United States.

Until contacted by The Huffington Post, HIAS officials were unaware that one of the children it helped decades ago was now serving on the court to which it was appealing.

Officials at HIAS searched their records and found official documentation of arrival for the Kozinski family. HIAS provided it to The Huffington Post, and it is printed here with the permission of Judge Kozinski.

The Kozinski family arrived in Baltimore in late October 1962. Alex was just 12, Moses was 47 and Sabine 43.

HIAS

“[HIAS] was very generous and kind to us in all respects,” Kozinski told The Huffington Post of his journey to America. Kozinski recalled that the paperwork, all arranged and prepared by HIAS, was completed in Vienna around 1962. The agency then supported the Kozinskis while Moses and Sabine sought employment.

“Then we came to the U.S. on a Sabena four-propeller airliner ― it took about 18 hours to cross the Atlantic, with one stop somewhere in Newfoundland,” Kozinski said. The Kozinskis landed in New York, where they passed through customs, like so many immigrants before them and after them. They briefly settled in Baltimore, where HIAS continued to support the family until Moses and Sabine found steady work.

After about five years in Baltimore, the Kozinskis moved to California in search of warmer weather. They’d settle in the Los Angeles area, where Moses would open a grocery store and Alex would eventually graduate from UCLA’s law school. After several years of private practice and then clerking for Supreme Court Justices Warren Burger and Anthony Kennedy (while Kennedy was appointed to the 9th Circuit), President Ronald Reagan appointed Kozinski first to U.S. Claims Court and then, in 1985, to the 9th Circuit.

That HIAS helped Kozinski’s family escape totalitarianism doesn’t disqualify him from ruling on the case. “They’re an amicus, not a party, and any association I had with them ended half a century ago,” Kozinski said. (Indeed, judges routinely rule on cases that involve organizations they previously had involvement with. But Kozinski isn’t assigned to the 9th Circuit motions panel of three judges who will hear the case. The panel consists of William C. Canby Jr., Michelle Friedland and Richard Clifton. As the case progresses, the court may grant a hearing before an 11-judge panel.)

Along the way, Kozinski may or may not get to express his views on the ultimate legality of Trump’s travel ban. But even if he doesn’t, the judge has already given the public a taste of how he feels about the federal government’s power over immigration ― and how it can have a profound effect no matter who is in power.

“We may soon find ourselves with new conflicts between the President and the states,” Kozinski wrote last week in an impassioned dissent to an order by the full 9th Circuit declining to hear a challenge by the state of Arizona to President Barack Obama’s policy aimed at helping young undocumented immigrants. His colleagues had declined to take up the case again, leaving in place a ruling that more or less forces Arizona to grant driver’s licenses to those covered by the policy.

But that result, under the Constitution, left Kozinski uneasy ― perhaps because of who is now the nation’s chief executive.

“Executive power favors the party, or perhaps simply the person, who wields it,” Kozinski warned his own court. “That power is the forbidden fruit of our politics, irresistible to those who possess it and reviled by those who don’t. Clear and stable structural rules are the bulwark against that power, which shifts with the sudden vagaries of our politics. In its haste to find a doctrine that can protect the policies of the present, our circuit should remember the old warning: May all your dreams come true.”

COURTESY OF ALEX KOZINSKI

Moses Kozinski and his son, Alex, at age 10.

Trump’s controversial executive order temporarily bans all refugees and indefinitely bars Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. The order also suspends travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. The policy, which covers 200 million people, sparked chaos and protests at many U.S. airports last week as travelers from the targeted countries were detained and lawyers were denied access to the detainees.

The order was soon challenged in court by multiple states. On Friday, a nationwide restraining order was issued by U.S. District Judge James Robart, who ruled that the order was likely to cause immediate and irreparable harm to the states of Washington and Minnesota to education, business, family relations and the freedom to travel. Over the weekend, the Justice Department filed an appeal to immediately restore the ban, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit denied that request. The appeals court is now preparing to hear full arguments in the case.

On Monday, HIAS filed in support of the stay of the executive order. HIAS argued that Trump’s executive order has “fractured many refugee families” and “risks the lives of many who relied on the promises of the United States when they received their visas.” The order, HIAS argues, closes the door to avoiding “immense dangers” they currently face in their home countries.

Trump has made a habit of smearing the judicial system and specifically attacking judges who challenge his authority or who issue rulings that unravel his plans. Over the weekend Trump blasted U.S. District Judge James Robart after he issued a temporary restraining order in Seattle last week, blocking Trump’s immigration order for the time being.

Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!

As a candidate, Trump also attacked Gonzalo Curiel, a federal judge who presided over lawsuits against Trump University. Trump accused the judge of an “absolute conflict” in the case because of the judge’s Mexican heritage. He repeatedly referred to Curiel as “Mexican” and said he couldn’t be an impartial judge because of Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the Mexican border. Curiel is a U.S. citizen, born in Indiana.

Kozinski is American, too.

ALEX KOZINSKI

Moses Kozinski at his store in Hollywood in 1971. His son went to UCLA and became a lawyer, then a judge.

CORRECTION: This article previously suggested that Kozinski was the only former refugee on the 9th Circuit. Judge Jacqueline Nguyen is also a former refugee.

Harvard Law Prof: Trump’s Handling of Immigration Order Could be Grounds for Impeachment

Constitutional Law Professor Laurence Tribe, a renowned professor at Harvard Law School, believes that President Donald Trump‘s handling of the litigation surrounding his controversial executive order on immigration could end up being grounds for impeachment.

Trump officials slow-walked court orders on travel ban

Tribe is specifically referring to allegations that the Trump administration purposely slow walked a Virginia judge’s order to provide travelers detained at Dulles airport last weekend with lawyers. The report alleges that guards were instructed to give phone numbers of legal services organizations, instead of providing the travelers access to the dozens of immigration lawyers who had showed up the airport. The State of Virginia is attempting to hold the immigration officials, and perhaps even Donald Trump himself, in contempt of court for failing to comply with the order.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General is reportedly also investigating after complaints that Customs and Border Protection defied court orders.

So how could all of this be grounds for impeachment? “This could well be deliberate and knowing failure by the President to comply with a facially lawful court order,” Professor Tribe explained to LawNewz.com. He continued:

There is no modern example of this – Nixon turned over tapes, as ordered, leading to the introduction of articles of impeachment against him and his resignation. Deliberately disobeying the order of a federal court could amount to criminal contempt of court, which might be found by the House to be a high crime or misdemeanor. Likewise, if, as reported, officials utilized conference calls instead of written documents they otherwise would have, in order to implement the plan of disobedience to the court’s order, that might amount to obstruction of justice as defined by the federal statute which, again, the House might determine is a high crime or misdemeanor.

According to the Politico report, at least four hours after the Virginia judge’s order came down, Todd Owen with Customs and Border Protection, had a conference call to deliver guidance on how to implement the order.

Tribe pointed to the landmark 1966 desegregation case, Griffin v. Prince Edward County, where the 4th circuit court ruled that “secret government manipulation of the status quo (there, involving school vouchers rather than visas) designed to undercut the full efficacy of a not-yet-issued injunction may be prosecuted as criminal contempt of court.”

As for the latest order by a federal judge in Seattle, the Trump administration so far appears to be complying, though the President has made some pointed remarks blasting the Seattle judge on Twitter which have drawn scrutiny, including calling James Robart a “so-called” judge. Some have surmised that Trump is “testing the waters” to see if there is enough national support for him to defy the judge’s nationwide temporary restraining order altogether. So far, the Trump administration has given no indication that they plan to do that. The Justice Department is scheduled to file briefs with the 9th Circuit appealing the TRO this afternoon.

According to the Constitution, the House must bring formal charges against the federal official, and then the procedure moves to the Senate, which acts as the trier of fact. They ultimately make the decision on whether to remove Trump, which requires a two-thirds majority of the Senate.

I know that most of you have heard the news that DeVoss was confirmed to the Cabinet as Secretary of Education. She was certainly not the pick of the liberals and progressives, due to her lack of experience with the Public School System. We did a really awesome job of calling, writing, and letting our Senators know that we did not want her to be confirmed.
We must not look at this as a loss. For a first time effort, we did well. We forced a tie in the Senate, forcing Pence to cast the tie vote. We came close, closer than projected.

There are two things they say we need to be doing: 1) We cannot stop contacting our Senators and Representatives, letting them know how angry you are, and that you appreciate their votes, and that your vote in the next election is tied to their votes now. 2) We need to write and call Vice President Pence. We’ve put pressure on both houses of Congress, and on Trump; now we need to put pressure on the Vice President. Pressure enough that, in the event of another tie, he may vote the people’s conscience, not his unduly elected boss’s.

The Resistance Continues, but only so long as we do. One good resource is the Women’s March Movement on Facebook (another march is reportedly being planned); and I, of course, will continue the fight here as best I can.

Frederick Law Olmsted was known as the father of American Landscape Architecture. He completed over 500 landscape architecture projects during his lifetime, starting with Central Park in New York City and finishing with the design for Biltmore Estate, here in Asheville, NC.

He is honored in Landscape Architecture circles and his design philosophy — that landscape architecture should include design elements that promote aesthetics, economics, environment and social needs — are at the heart of the North Carolina Arboretum, where Amy & I spent a lovely day.

His influence is so great, that the Arboretum commissioned a statue of him:

Also at the Arboretum this weekend — and for the rest of September and into October — is an exhibit of flower- and nature-based Lego sculptures, magnificent in both scale and execution. I was so taken by their complexity and beauty, that I felt I had to share them with you, with some photos of some of the flowers they emulate.

I hope you enjoy them.

Sundial in Legos Photograph and Copyright Barbara Mattio

Train in the gardens. It is an O gauge. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio,2016

Like this:

Yesterday we drove to SC to visit friends and the Greenville Museum of Art and the History Museum It was a beautiful warm day and we had a lot of fun. The Art Museum allow photographs so I got a few of those also.

I hope you enjoy the journey. The art phot0graphs were taken with my phone camera not my regular camera.

Neil Diamond, Sweet Caroline, is dedicated to my late husband. RIP

This was from the trip down to Greenville. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016

White Crepe MyrtlePhotograph and Copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016

Fluffy breezy cloudsPhotograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 201

Purple crepe myrtlephotograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016

Lovely landscapePhotograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016

Side of mountainPhotograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016

Art by Jasper JohnsPhotograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016

Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016

Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016

Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016

Art work by Yoko Ono. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016

Sculpture. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016

Sun getting lower in the sky and early evening arrives. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Matttio 2016

I love watching the clouds float across the blue skies. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016

O Lord, all the people have become my guards, relatives and bosom friends.

Tuka says, I now conduct myself without any care.

I have attained divine peace within and without.”

—Book of Prayers, M. K. Gandhi

What makes up Divine Love

“All things in creation and manifestation, even all things in existence, are held together by Ishk. This is Divine Love. It is difficult to express it in such a limited way, but we know that sunlight contains electricity, magnetism and numerous other forces or aspects of cosmic force.”

—From Spiritual Brotherhood, Samuel Lewis

“Gravitation, light, attraction, adhesion, and cohesion are all aspects of this Divine Love in the physical world. But even these aspects extend far into the unseen, and it cannot be said that Divine Love is limited or qualified by its mental aspects and characteristics…Behind all mysteries, behind all activity and behind all life is Love or Agape or Karuna which holds all things and persons together, which creates the beauty and harmony of this cosmos.”

—Samuel Lewis

Desire

“I desire you

more than food

or drink

My body

my senses

my mind

hunger for your taste

I can sense your presence

in my heart

although belong to all the world

I wait

with silent passion

for one gesture

one glance

from you. ”

—Rumi, The Love Poems of Rumi

Open up your heart

“In your light I learn how to love.

In your beauty, how to make poems.

You dance inside my chest,

where no one sees you,

but sometimes I do, and that

sight becomes this art.”

—-The words of Rumi

You are a child of the Universe. Get out there and shine.

“Love is the greatest component of life. It unifies everything. It attracts and draws to us all that is good. Through love we become more aware and responsive to the needs of humanity. We see the oneness, commonality, and the spark of God in each person. We can begin with our family, friends, and coworkers. We can love them even if we think they have done something wrong. We can be there for them, with compassion, kindness, gentleness and acceptance. That is how we demonstrate our human love.”

It’s been a rough week. Volcanos, earthquakes, riots. It makes people forget the beauty in the world, and the importance of creating beauty.

I found this talk, by Sabina Ulubeanu, a music composer, and Co-Artistic Director of InnerSound New Arts Festival in Romania, on the TED Talks channel on YouTube and wanted to share it with you, my loyal readers.

Sometimes, when things seem the worst, we need to remember that there is still beauty in the world, and that the creation of beauty in all its forms — music, art, poetry, prose and, yes, science — is the most important work of all.

Like this:

This Young Woman Walked Through Kabul Wearing Metal Armor To Protest Street Harassment

Artist-activist Kubra Khademi took to Kabul’s streets in a metal jacket in a defiant protest against sexual harassment.

posted on Feb. 27, 2015, at 11:02 a.m.

Tasneem Nashrulla

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Kubra Khademi, a 25-year-old Afghan artist, took to the streets of Kabul in a metal armor to protest street harassment on Thursday.

Photo by Abbas Changezi

In a Facebook post, Khademi, who is a multi-disciplinary artist in Kabul, called her performance “Armor.”

Khademi’s performance went viral in Afghanistan, a country where women struggle against assault, violence and misogynistic traditions on a daily basis.

Street harassment is rampant in cities such as Kabul where women are frequently subjected to verbal insults, physical assault and even acid throwing.

“Harassment on the street is a daily experience for women and girls, and women who have sought help from the police in response to harassment and even threats have typically received no assistance,” according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

While there has been progress in girls’ access to education and increased participation in The Afghan parliament, “unchecked sexual harassment has been a significant obstacle to women’s employment and participation in public life,” HRW said.

BuzzFeed News has reached out to Khademi for comment.

Tasneem Nashrulla is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.

A tree is awash in autumn color as the moon rises over the White House on election night, November 08.
REUTERS

Black History Month

Repeal Stand your Ground

Help Save a Child

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HANDS UP 4 JUSTICE APP

The Hands Up 4 Justice audio and video APP records encounters with law enforcement. This APP was created to video and audio record encounters with law enforcement for your safety. The best use of the APP once pulled over by the police, turn on the front facing camera and start recording..

Protests – Black Lives Matter

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KEEP EYES ON THE POLICE. NATIONAL POLICE VIOLENCE MAPPING TOOL.

Tool designed to help you hold Elected Officials accountable for police violence.

Hank Johnson Justice Fund

NO JUSTICE, NO MONEY
In the wake of the killings of unarmed black men and boys and the outrageous failure to prosecute their killers, Hank Johnson is introducing the Grand Jury Reform Act. This bill will prohibit the use of a grand jury when determining whether to prosecute a police officer in the event of a death. The status quo isn’t working. The evidence is clear. The people are demanding a real response from their elected leaders.

I am a retired widow with 4 kids and 9 grands. I worked as a nurse, and in Domestic Violence, and many non-profits, I was a donor health counselor for the American Red Cross and am a certified HIV counselor. I worked as a counselor and I have been a make-up artist and selling specialists for several American designers. I love life. I am very spiritual. I grew up in 50's and 60's and truly am the idealistic rebel which is the name of my blog. I love music, books, reading, Kindle, beauty. I am a photographer and an artist. I believe in making the world better one day at a time. I am now living in Asheville, NC.

Unique Nature Art Shop and Information about the environment and anxiety. Art for sale as original drawings, prints, or product with prints on them. Let me help you reconnect with your family and friends with a unique nature art gift.